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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25128706">The Games They Play</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadmarchhare/pseuds/sadmarchhare'>sadmarchhare</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A3! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Crush, Azuma giving emotional support as always, Confusion, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Internal Conflict, M/M, Not Beta Read, Secret Crush, Unresolved Emotional Tension</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:01:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,585</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25128706</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadmarchhare/pseuds/sadmarchhare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hey Hyodo, I have an idea,” the other simply turned his face towards him, “what if we gave each other the silent treatment and the first one to break it had to do whatever the other wants for a week?” Juza raised an eyebrow, that idea sure was something new. It wasn’t in any way a bad proposal and although Juza did often fight with Banri, he was a pretty quiet person so he has an advantage even though he didn’t need to be completely silent as he could still talk with the others. Still, an advantage. And if he won this not only for a while, he wouldn’t have to hear any of Banri’s bs he could make the other do anything he wanted.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hyoudou Juuza/Settsu Banri</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>okay so some things i need to say:<br/>-this is my first proper chaptered fic<br/>-i wrote this on and off because i wasn't sure where i was going with it<br/>-im like a big fan of coherent and good writing styles and im not sure mine is either rn so feedback is appreciated<br/>-im going to try and update it once a week im sorry i cant do more but i have other works im doing and i have exams in 3 days i havent studied for<br/>thats it please enjoy this!!!! &lt;33</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the end he was glad he stayed in the company, it was a fun gig and he had made new friends, there was however one setback, and it was that Juza joined too. It’s true that if Juza hadn’t joined he wouldn’t have either but now it annoyed him that the other had stayed. Or to be more specific it annoyed the constant small fights they had day in and day out. They clashed often and fought over the most insignificant things. Although it stopped turning physical, bitter words were still exchanged very often.  </p><p>Of course, Banri was at fault for starting at the very least half of them he still got annoyed every time it happened. Like right now, he was laying on the couch and Juza start insisting he moved his legs cause he wanted to sit down as well. Which in his point of view was unfair cause he arrived first and there were perfectly good chairs behind them that Juza could use and if he didn’t then he could straight back to his room. The point is he wasn’t going to move until he felt like it. </p><p>“Other people live here,” said Juza almost growling and looking down at Banri who had his eyes on his phone, presumably playing a videogame. </p><p>“They can wait until I feel like moving,” he retorted back still not moving an inch. No matter what Juza said the other would reply with the same, in his opinion, stupid excuses so he had an idea. He grabbed Banri’s legs and pushed them of the side of the couch and quickly sat down.  </p><p>“Hey what the fuck!” Shouted Banri who almost fell off the couch, and had to sat properly on the other side of the couch. Juza didn’t say anything so Banri got up and was going to push Juza off the couch but before he could do anything Azuma and Izumi who had gone shopping for dinner arrived so defeatedly he sat down </p><p>Azuma noticing the tense air between the two boys could already guess they had been fighting so he decided to ask, “Did something happen while we were out?” </p><p>“No,” the two boys quickly answered in unison and fought the urge to scowl at each other. </p><p>“That’s great,” he gave them a soft smile and followed Izumi to the kitchen to help her unload the groceries and prepare dinner. Meanwhile an idea crossed Banri’s mind, what if instead of always fighting they stopped talking to each other unless it was absolutely necessary and whoever spoke first had to do whatever the other wanted to do for a week? In his mind it was absolutely brilliant idea and a way to at least not having to hear Juza’s annoying complaints every other hour. </p><p>“Hey Hyodo, I have an idea,” the other simply turned his face towards him, “what if we gave each other the silent treatment and the first one to break it had to do whatever the other wants for a week?” Juza raised an eyebrow, that idea sure was something new. It wasn’t in any way a bad proposal and although Juza did often fight with Banri, he was a pretty quiet person so he has an advantage even though he didn’t need to be completely silent as he could still talk with the others. Still, an advantage. And if he won this not only for a while, he wouldn’t have to hear any of Banri’s bs he could make the other do anything he wanted. </p><p>“Sure.” </p><p>A smirk grew on Banri’s face, “Okay then it starts now.” This was going to be a piece of cake, thought Banri. </p><p>But it was not for the reasons anyone would expect however, weirdly enough three days after the bet between them was made Banri felt himself missing the bickering he used to have with Juza. But every time he found himself missing it a little bit, he simply dismissed those thoughts. It was strange how only after three days he had noticed it that much, he wondered when had the fights with Juza simply became something he accepted as part of his daily life. To be fair everything in life was super easy for him and the only person that really got him fired up was Juza. Nevertheless, reasons to start fights still existed such as Banri playing his music in his shared room with Juza too loud. </p><p>Neither of them said anything, Banri just sat in his bed going through his phone while his favorite music blasted through the speaker and Juza pondered throwing him something, that wasn’t speaking so that wasn’t breaking the rules, right? But he didn’t want to lose at any costs so he really didn’t feel like risking it. </p><p>He knew Banri was only doing this because he knew Juza couldn’t say anything. Usually when Banri tried to play his music like this Juza would turn it off then it would turn into a fight because Banri insisted that was his room too and Juza would simply retort by reminding the other of the existence of headphones. Much to Juza’s dismay however he couldn’t remind the other of that so either he read the script in the comfort of his own room with music blasting in the background or he went somewhere else. </p><p>He chose the latter. After he left Banri felt a bit disappointed his roommate hadn’t said or done anything to make him stop. He had to up the ante if he wanted Juza to make Juza lose. Which in all honesty surprised him because he really thought this would be easier after all it was easy to just start fight with his out of nowhere but right now it seemed like Juza really wanted to win. But Banri wasn’t worried he had a various ideas on how to make the other crack. </p><p>The next thing he did was about two days later, he decided to eat the pudding he knew Juza had been saving for when he came back from school. Since Banri decided to skip the afternoon classes he had come home earlier and could execute his plan no problem. He knew Juza would immediately know it had been Banri who ate his pudding so hopefully that would make him so mad he just had to say something. </p><p>But when Juza finally arrived home and went to the fridge he grabbed a completely unrelated cake. Banri tried to hide his anger from the couch he couldn’t really see Juza’s face but judging by his movements he had been unaffected. </p><p>Juza wasn’t dumb he knew Banri knew his favorite thing was sweets and that the moment he could he’d try to eat anything Juza had been saving. So, with well executed mannerisms he made it look like he was saving the pudding and not the chocolate cake Omi had made for him. </p><p>However, neither of them said anything. Juza ate his cake and Banri went to his room seeing has his plan had failed. It had only been five days since they started this game yet Banri was for sure sick of it already. Without Juza to fight with and show how much good he is at everything he was started to get as bored as he was before he had joined the company. He needed to put in practice another plan asap. </p><p>That asap turned out to be the next day. Juza was relaxing in the lounge and Banri decided to go loudly play videogames there. Once again it was obvious to Juza that the other was only doing this to get a rise out of him because usually Banri wasn’t this loud when playing videogames. But once again Banri had failed because the only thing Juza did was roll his eyes and go away. Not like he expected this to work after all this wasn’t anything extraordinary yet he had still expected a bigger reaction. </p><p>And so, for yet more six days Banri had tried to make Juza say anything while the other fired back with plans of his own of course. Yet they didn’t speak a word to each other besides when they were playing their characters in practice. Obviously, the other members had noticed something was going on between those two and they had asked to which both just answered earnestly, after all it’s not like they were bothering anyone. </p><p>But eventually it started to weigh down on Banri. He was becoming weirdly more irritable than he was before and when he wasn’t mad, he was simply bored out of his mind. He tried to spend more time playing games with Itaru but the other did have a day job and wasn’t always available. Even then he did find himself missing Juza in a way. </p><p>Didn’t he join he company only to beat Juza at acting? He could still do that without talking to him and well he was still doing that. And they weren’t friends. They hated each other! Right? Banri never thought he’d find himself in this situation, second guessing the hate he had for Juza. </p><p>But as he laid in bed awake looking through social media on his phone his thoughts kept drifting back to his roommate. When did he stop truly hating him? The competition between them was still the same after all Banri was a competitive person by nature so that would probably never change. But the competition between them at some point started to be fun. At some point Banri stopped wanting to be better at acting just to beat Juza and show him he sucked it became more like a healthy competition between the two. Yes, Banri still wanted to prove he was better but he didn’t feel like rubbing it in Juza’s face anymore, he felt like shaking his hand and say “It was fun.” </p><p>Banri pressed his lips together and turn off his phone. Not even the attention fans gave him on social media was distracting him. He needed to make Juza lose or else he’d be the one losing but it’d be his mind. </p><p>In the morning Banri decided to annoy Juza first things first. It was a school day so he woke up earlier than usual and hid Juza’s backpack. Then went back to sleep. Of course, when the aforementioned guy woke up, he noticed the missing backpacks with his books and stationary inside. He knew it had been Banri and as annoyed as he was right now, he refused to say anything besides a barely audible “Fuck you Settsu.”  </p><p>Eventually Juza found his bag hidden in the garden and Banri got a stern talking from Izumi or at least as stern as she could be, “Juza is going to be late because of you and you need to get going too” </p><p>“It isn’t that big of a deal and I kinda wanna skip.” Said Banri as he crossed his arms. </p><p>“No. Go to school I’ll tell Sakyo to drive you there.” </p><p>“No thank you, I’ll go alone.” Banri said and just left obviously annoyed although Izumi couldn’t tell if it was because of the bet he had made with Juza or because he had to go to school. </p><p>It was mostly the former, it had been thirteen days already since this started and he was running out of ideas to annoy Juza. He couldn’t believe how patient the other was, he seemed to get annoyed so easily at Banri before did he really want to win this that badly? Well Banri wanted to win as well but he didn’t expect this to be such a pain. </p><p>In the end he ended up playing hooky and not gone to school. He didn’t feel like he was in the right mindset to deal with anything school related right now. Banri couldn’t believe how affected by this he had become his competitive streak was too blame but not entirely somehow, he had started considering Juza a friend and Banri wasn’t sure how to deal with that. </p><p>All his thought from last night ran through his head, and he came to the conclusion that as much as he hated the idea along the way he started to consider Juza a friend. Well it wasn’t like he couldn’t imagine this happening down the line after all they shared a room and saw each other every day he just hadn’t been expecting this to happen so early in the game. After all he had only joined the company half a year ago. </p><p>But was this really what was bothering him? Being friends with Juza? Somehow such a wild concept now that he had accepted it had lost all its bitterness. But then a wildly different thought crossed his mind and his heart missed a beat. Could it be? No. There was no way after all Juza was like that and Banri was like this, right? Did Banri really have a sort of a crush on Juza? </p><p>Just the idea was enough to make Banri want to puke. But Juza had been the only one Banri had truly been interested in and he was the one that truly fired Banri up and he had to admit maybe sometimes he stared at Juza a little for too long. No. There was no way. Banri almost lost his balance, he put a hand over his heart and closed his fist. </p><p>No. He was going too far this bet, game or whatever was going too far it was making Banri overthink things too much. How did he even reach this conclusion? It was ridiculous really. Although he was bisexual and he had no issue admitting it this was Juza they were talking about not a regular man and definitely not Banri’s type not even if he was a girl. So, he took a deep breath and kept walking there was no point going over these thoughts again. He didn’t have a crush on his roommate period. </p><p>Even if he did, what a joke it would be. But he didn’t so it didn’t matter.  </p><p>Banri ended up going to the afternoon classes since his head was clearer after a good lunch and he may or may not have sneaked back to the dorm where he stayed in his room taking nap. The classes went like usual and when it was time to go, he waited for the other boys and went straight home. While on the way back another idea to make Juza possibly mad at him appeared him his mind, he was going to steal Juza’s keys and hide them once given the opportunity. When he arrived, he noticed Juza was already home. Perfect. </p><p>Banri quickly went to his room but surprisingly enough his roommate’s backpack wasn’t there. Well maybe it was not suspiring if we think back to the stunt, he had pulled this morning, truly Banri should have expected this. Not one to accept defeat he decided to simply steal the other’s phone charger instead. It wasn’t much and it certainly wasn’t going to make Juza lose the bet but it was just something to amuse him and to prove that no matter what Juza did against his plans he’d never accept defeat. </p><p>Of course, like pointed out before nothing much happened, Juza just spent around ten minutes looking for his charger then gave up and went to ask Muku for his. In Banri’s eyes this had been yet another wasted day and his patience was starting to grow thin so much so he thought it was better if he just caved in and lost. But who knows what Juza would have him do? But what else could Banri do? He couldn’t physically fight him as he knew Juza wouldn’t fight back. </p><p>Then a crazy idea crossed his mind. What if to mess with Juza, Banri confessed to him? One of the conditions to this bet was that they could talk but only if they needed to say something really important, was this not of the utmost importance? They would only discuss the details of Banri’s confession once Juza lost of course, because he’d be too confused or angry at his confession. Not only would this completely mess with Juza it would also eliminate that stupid possibility that Banri had a crush on Juza because after confessing he’d be disgusted therefore, he’d prove to himself how he did not have a crush on his almost friend. </p><p>Yes, it was the perfect plan. He was going to end this once and for all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello so i'd like to thank you all for the kind comments and kudos because without them i really doubt i was going to be able to update this exactly a week after the first chapter was released even though i said i was going to update this once a week. I wasn't sure wether to continue it or not but now i am so thank you very much for being patient here's the new chapter i hope you all enjoy it! ♪(´▽｀)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For Juza this bet was going better than he had originally expected. Of course, six days after it had started Banri had already annoyed Juza enough that if they weren’t doing this bet, he would have fought with him, although only verbally. So, this time around Juza tried to calm himself down every time Banri got his way and just planned something to get back at him for. </p><p>He didn’t really feel the need to actively attack the other like his roommate seemed to so for the most part Juza only did something if Banri did it first. This bet was turning out to be too easy as Juza could see how affected and angry the other looked when his plans failed. Juza could tell that one of these days the other was just going to blow up and scream at him or whatever he felt like doing. Either way Juza would win. </p><p>This bet had also been beneficial as Juza had a crush on Banri. It sounded like something out of a movie after all they were oh-so-called enemies and it took him months to be at peace with the fact that yeah maybe he’d like to kiss Banri. He knew he had started to look at the other differently when once while pretending to be asleep Banri said something that stuck with Juza. After that he had a lot of time to think and he noticed that he tried to do better than his best, if that’s possible, when working with Banri. No one fired him up and like and it seemed the other felt the same. </p><p>However, Juza knew that in Banri’s case that’s all Juza did to him, fire him up so he can beat him. Unlike him who as embarrassing as it was to admit it, would like to bring Banri to one of his favorite cafés so they could go on a date. But he knew it was nothing more than an unrequited crush so he did what he thought was best and just kept it to himself. </p><p>It had been hard in the start after going through so much to accept the crush he now had to kept it to himself because he knew Banri would be more than disgusted if he knew about it. And Juza just accepted that conclusion after all they didn’t get along that well it would only make sense that the other’s reaction would turn out to be something close to what he imagined. </p><p>He could hear Banri’s voice in his head saying “Is that supposed to be a joke, you bastard?” every time he thought of confessing even if it was just to get it out of his chest and not have to think about it ever again. But he decided it wasn’t worth the trouble after all it could end up making things awkward between them subsequentially making things awkward between the troupe. And why create problems for everyone when he could simply keep those feelings locked in his heart until they eventually went away. </p><p>But Juza had to admit, that was easier said than done. He lived with Banri, he got to see the person he was sweet on every day, and it's not easy to forget your feelings for someone you share a room with. In the end the journey to just end these feelings once and for all had been painful and even now those feelings hadn’t disappeared completely. They didn’t torment him every time he went to sleep and saw Banri’s head softly lying in his pillow but sometimes they did attack, when Banri gave him a glance that said more than words could convey or when even without noticing they sat close to each other and just enjoyed the silence. </p><p>In those times Juza wished he could just reach for the others hand and just interlace their fingers like those characters in Muku’s shoujo manga sometimes did. But then he realized how stupid his thoughts sounded and quickly pushed them away. Like he did just now when he imagined what would it be like to just lightly kiss the other and speaking of the devil, Banri entered the living room relaxed as ever and sat on the couch where Juza was eating a pudding and scrolling through his phone while not really paying attention since his thoughts had wandered far off. </p><p>“Hyodo as per our afore established rules I can speak to you when I have something extremely important to say and that happens to be the case.” That made Juza sit up straight, what? He looked at Banri and narrowed his eyes. He didn't doubt whatever the other had to say was important because there was no way he’d risk losing this bet over something stupid. But what could be so important no one but him could say it to Juza. </p><p>“This is going to sound like a joke but,” he laughed and looked at the ceiling before continuing Juza still didn’t know how to react but he wasn’t going to say anything in case it turned out to not be important at all and he could finally win, “I have kind of a crush on you.” Banri put his hands behind his head trying to look relaxed and didn’t elaborate further. </p><p>Juza opened his mouth to speak but not a word came out, he closed his fist and hit it on the coffee table. How was he supposed to react to that? What was he supposed to say? “Was this a joke?” He wanted to ask but Banri looked like he was trying to calm himself down as well but he was also an actor and a pretty good one at that too. But if this was just a joke then he would lose the bet and there was no way he’d sink this low just to win this bet that compared to having a crush on Juza was not important in the slightest. </p><p>No words were exchanged for some minutes. Juza was trying to control himself and not just scream at Banri while the other had put his hands on his knees and was now looking at the ground. He was waiting for Juza to react and just lose the bet already then finally admit that it was a joke. But for some reason he was feeling bad, he bit his lip out of frustration, it’s not like Juza was going to be mad about this. Yes, he was probably going to be mad he lost but not over what the prank was about after all it wasn’t true Banri did not have a crush on Juza. </p><p>Because of course he didn’t. He was just feeling bad because it was a bit of a low blow and not because deep down, he wishes Juza would look at him in a different light. The thoughts he had been having about his friend came crashing like a wave and suddenly he felt his throat burning. This was already felt like the tables were turning a bit, he wasn’t supposed to feel bad. Why was he toying with that ridiculous possibility of him having a crush on Juza when he was so close to winning this bet and shove it in his roommate's face. </p><p>But Juza didn’t say anything. He swiftly got up and went away letting the door close behind him with a bang. Banri looked at the door surprised, did his plan backfire? He wondered. </p><p>As for Juza he left because tears were threatening to spill. His thoughts were running wild he was angry, he was sad, he was confused and everything in between. First, he considered the most likely option of Banri just saying that because he thought that was the fastest way to make Juza mad so he could speak and just lose the bet already. It was a low blow but it had been around two weeks since the bet was made and at this point Juza knew Banri wasn’t above pulling something like this. </p><p>Second, it could be that Banri was actually confessing to him. And just thinking about that made Juza feel his heart skip a beat, it was stupidly cliché but he really liked the other and even though he’s trying to completely forget his feelings if Banri did actually confess, he’d grab his hand like he dreams of doing and would bring him to his favorite bakeries and kiss him after a day well spent. </p><p>And the third reason why Banri might have said what he did was, he had found out Juza had a crush on him and was making fun of him, using it as an opportunity to win the bet as well. In Juza’s mind this was exactly what had happened, and that made his heart get caught up in his throat. He knew this day was going to arrive eventually, Banri was very perceptive and Juza had to admit he had slipped up a few times by staring at the other in the morning for a bit too long, letting his touch linger just a bit more, staring at Banri’s lips when he got close and a bunch of other times he was either too tired to try and hide his feelings or his feelings just weighed so much he had to indulge a bit. </p><p>He didn’t know what to do right now, he didn’t even know where he was going. But he was sure Banri was in the living room already preparing his most smug face for when Juza came home said something and just let Banri win. He was done with this bet; it finally became too personal and he couldn’t believe Banri would discover something so personal and just make fun of him for it. Juza sniffed, some tears had fallen and he was holding his fists closed, he knew he probably looked ridiculous and pitiful but what was he to do? </p><p>He didn’t know why he ever fell in love with Banri in the first place. Was the way he smiled at Juza, the way he knew Juza needed help and would take it without even asking, their late-night conversations, the way their characters always fit so well like they would if they weren’t so competitive, was it all that? Because at this point Juza couldn’t help but feel like maybe he had fallen out of sheer stupidity because who would fall for someone that makes fun of who he likes? </p><p>He wanted to scream, to run home and give Banri a piece of his mind. But what was the point? Banri wasn’t going to listen anyway, Juza decided to just go home, end the bet and got straight to his room and sleep. He could do whatever Banri wanted tomorrow because if he was told to do anything today, he might just explode. </p><p>And that’s exactly what he did. When he opened the door, he didn’t see Banri however, he went to their shared room and there he was, in his bed scrolling through his phone, a frown in his face. When he saw the door open, he put his phone down and was going to speak but Juza spoke first. </p><p>“Let’s end this. I lost. It’s over. I’ll do whatever you want starting tomorrow. Good night.” Juza quickly gathered his things but before he could leave, obviously he wasn’t going to spend the night in the same room as Banri, the other spoke up. </p><p>“Hey you know I was j-” the door closed with a bang. Second time today Banri heard this noise. His heart clenched. What the fuck had he done? He stared at the door at a loss of what to do. Juza was clearly mad and Banri could only assume it was because he was annoyed but why?  Was it because he lost? If that was the reason, he couldn’t see why Juza wouldn’t just scream at him. </p><p>Come time for dinner and Juza didn’t come down. When Banri sat at the table he bit his lip knowing it was his fault. Azuma noticed Banri’s mood and decided to ask. </p><p>“Did something happen?” </p><p>“Not really me and Juza just fought, he lost our bet.” </p><p>“Oh, I see.” but it didn’t seem like he was entirely convinced. He grabbed a plate of curry and handed it to Banri. </p><p>“Bring this to him.” but Muku took it off his hands and smiled. </p><p>“I’ll do it.” only confirming Azuma’s suspicion that something was definitely off. Everyone else at the table thought the same but the dinner went on without any mention of what was going on between Banri and Juza. </p><p>After everyone had left however Azuma assigned himself to dish cleaning duty with Banri. He stayed behind without any complaints, although he knew he’d be doing most of the work. </p><p>“You can talk to me if you want.” he said while turning the water on. Banri wasn’t sure he wanted to say anything after all he wasn’t sure of what had happened really besides him making that so-called joke to make Juza losing and suddenly Juza acting weird. But then it hit him, did Juza li- </p><p>His thoughts however were interrupted by Azuma speaking again, “Hello? Earth to Banri?” He blinking and looked at him, before taking the dish and drying it. </p><p>“Sorry I was just thinking.” </p><p>“About?” and in that moment, he decided to just talk to him hopefully he wouldn’t say anything to Juza. He proceeded to explain everything to him since the start of the bet to what had happened earlier that day, omitting of course his thoughts about the possibility of his crush on Juza because first they weren’t real in the way Banri saw them and second because they didn’t matter to the problem at hand, he assumed. </p><p>While Banri explained he was silent only nodding and humming to prove that he was still listening, when Banri ended the explanation she chuckled. </p><p>“What’s so funny?” </p><p>“Don’t you think it’s obvious that Juza likes you? I mean what other reason is there for him to be mad at you?” Banri closed his fist, he was close to considering that but, wasn’t it ridiculous? Before he could say anything to Azuma however the other left. </p><p>“Think about what I said, good night.” </p><p>He was going to think about what he said for sure but where to start. Even if Juza did hypothetically have a crush on him why not just tell him? He knew they didn’t get along as well as other boys in the company but they shared a room and everything. Was Banri so unapproachable that Juza would rather keep his feelings hidden without a chance of ever mentioning them? That thought made Banri’s throat clench. Did Juza see him as unapproachable and or untrustworthy? But since when did Banri care about this? He laughed to himself and went to his room, he had a lot of thinking to do tonight.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry for uploading this only four days later than i should have but my writing is not at the place i want it to be so writing more than 2k words without wanting to throw my computer across the room is harder than I expected, but anyways this chapter serves to get a bit more of an insight on Banri's turmoil, so this will probably feel a bit like a filler, however i hope y'all enjoy it anyway ψ(._. )&gt;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once in his bed all Banri felt like doing was cry. He couldn’t remember the last time he did so but he sure felt like doing it now. He was frustrated for the first time in his life something was really difficult he couldn’t find a super ultra-easy way to get out of this because there was none. What could he do? The most obvious and probably the best thing to do would be to talk to Juza about this but what would he say? “Hey I found out that you have a crush on me haha isn’t that wild?” First of all, he wasn’t even sure that indeed Juza has a crush on him and second of all what if he really did? </p><p>Banri couldn’t reciprocate the others feelings, could he? He didn’t like Juza that way, he just considered him a close friend and he’s never had someone as close to him as Juza that’s why Banri questioned if he had a crush on him, he just got the feelings mixed up of course. Platonic, romantic a bit difficult to tell apart sometimes. </p><p>But when he really thought about it, he wouldn’t mind dating Juza. The other was very attentive and really cared for others, who wouldn’t want to date someone that when says they are listening, they really are? Once again Banri did not like Juza that way so there was no point in leading the other on. Them dating would be the worst thing they clash too much they probably would end up getting together and breaking up on the same day. </p><p>He ended up tossing and turning all night a million questions plaguing his head. When he woke up, way earlier than he usually does in non-school days, he looked at Juza’s empty bed and felt awful. All of last night's questions coming back to his head in full force. </p><p>Before he could get out of bed however someone opened the door, Juza. Without doing as much as glancing at Banri he went over to his closet to get dressed. None of them said anything to each other, the tension between them however was palpable. Both were waiting for the other to speak.  </p><p>Banri decided to be the one saying something, “So about your loss,” he knows he shouldn’t be talking about this right now, that it will only serve to piss off Juza even more but what else can he do? “I think you can start by cleaning the whole room.” Juza looked at Banri with a scowl on his face and Banri couldn’t tell if he was pissed because of what he said just now or if it was just the fact that he talked to him in the first place. </p><p>But he didn’t say anything and left the room, Banri guessed it was to eat breakfast, he’d do the same once he knew Juza wasn’t at the table. Besides Azuma, he didn’t want anyone to know about the tension between them. It would only create unnecessary discussions between everyone and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of that. </p><p>When Juza came back he had actually started cleaning, he started by Banri’s side and although he had lost and was doing something Banri ordered he didn’t feel triumphant. Instead he felt bad and like he was missing something. He couldn’t watch the other clean so he left the room and went to eat breakfast. </p><p>In the kitchen only Azuma sat at the table seemingly drinking some tea, Omi was in the couch Izumi next to him watching enchanted while Omi did some of his usual felt work. Banri went straight to the coffee machine, when he sat down to drink it Azuma looked at him a knowing smile adorning his face, “You didn’t speak to him did you?” </p><p>“How do you know?” </p><p>“Juza seemed sad and you are frowning.” </p><p>“We could have talked but it could have gone wrong.” Said Banri annoyance clear in his voice, he wasn’t trying to be mean to Azuma after the other had helped him yesterday, he just couldn’t seem to get a hold of his emotions right now. But Azuma seemed to know that too since he simply continued to smile and didn’t say anything. “But what do you mean with Juza seemed sad?” </p><p>“I think he was hoping you’d talk to him. I’m telling you that boy really likes you.” That made Banri’s frown deepen and his grip on the cup grow tighter, he really didn’t want to believe it but to prove Azuma wrong and he’d have to talk to Juza.  </p><p>“What if he does?” Banri lowered his voice not wanting either Izumi nor Omi to listen to their conversation. </p><p>“What if he does? Well, don’t you like him too?”  </p><p>“No! What are you on about?” His heartbeat quickened. </p><p>“Oh, sorry I really thought you did after all it seemed like you were so fond of him. The way you speak to him when you two are not fighting, the way you stare at him and especially the way you two work together.” Banri was freaking out and Azuma could tell he had just told the boy something he didn’t know about himself yet. But Azuma supposed it would be better for him to deal with this before talking to Juza and ruined things even more between them. </p><p>On the other hand, Banri felt like breaking something, so someone noticed? But noticed what? He didn’t like Juza that way he had reached that conclusion a long time ago, but did he really? What was he really sacred of? That him and Juza dating would only increase their fights and get the back to square one, affecting the troupe as well? Were any of those fears valid? </p><p>If he toyed with the idea of him dating Juza he did not see them fighting more, he simply had convinced himself they would. After all, why would they fight more if they can simply kiss and shut up? A fun thought indeed that made Banri’s stomach flutter and he could feel the floor falling under him. He needed to focus to think about his feelings without denying them outright because even if he did like Juza but thought their relationship would do more harm than good they did not need to date. </p><p>“I don’t know I need to think about this first.” </p><p>“That’s alright if you want to you can always talk to me.” Said Azuma as he reached to put his hand on top of Banri’s own. </p><p>“Sure, thank you.” He got up and went straight to his room hopefully Juza wasn’t there, he needed a quiet place to recollect his thoughts and he really didn’t feel like going anywhere. </p><p>Today wasn’t his lucky day it seemed, Juza was indeed still in the room but he wasn’t cleaning anymore. He was just sitting at his desk going through his social media, he didn’t say anything when Banri entered and climbed to his bed. The tension was definitely still there, Banri needed to think carefully and then just speak to the other already. He couldn’t take more than a day of this air around them it both pissed him off and made him sad beyond belief.  </p><p>It was the same for Juza, but he didn’t really feel like talking to Banri. He knew the other would just additionally made fun of him for his crush. But whatever when he decided to talk to him, because Juza wasn’t about to start the conversation himself no it had been Banri’s fault he had to be the one fixing it, Juza would just explain how he doesn’t need to worry about him liking Banri because he could just forget it no problem. Which wasn’t true but it was better than creating even more problems between them </p><p>Juza heard rustling behind him and soon enough Banri appeared behind him his voice calm and without his usual smugness, “I need to apologize.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i usually write more niche fics so seeing how much attention this has gotten especially as my first chaptered fic makes me very nervous but very happy o(*°▽°*)o thank you everyone for reading!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank u for being patient with me and thank u for reading this! kudos and comments are my source of seratonin so please leave either if u liked it! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)<br/>twt @wlwtrekkie<br/>insta @sovietdetective</p></blockquote></div></div>
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